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So, You Want to Be an American?
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Perhaps when we annex Nepal. The Capitals man should not feel too bad, however. One 44-year-old in a double-breasted suit answered: "Colorado."
But that man grew up in the flatlands of Brooklyn, N.Y., and resides in Silver Spring, and so might be forgiven for unfamiliarity with America's great peaks. To his credit, he was one of two able to define "inalienable rights" and correctly label our economic system as a free market. (Others offered "Democratic" and "monetary.")
"I have a master's degree in economics," suit man said. "If I didn't get that one, my professors would be cringing in their seats."
Near the escalators, a Utah retiree rested. At 75, he had had time to accrue knowledge, but also, he warned, time to forget. Gazing at the consumption around him, he pronounced our economic system "waste and spend." Asked who governs the people in a self-governed country, he stuck to the theme.
"Let's see, the corporations?" When told the federal government would prefer he cite the people themselves, or their elected officials, he shook his head. "You'd like to think that, but I don't believe it anymore."
It was becoming clear that this was the sort of knowledge that, for many, had evaporated after an eighth-grade civics test.
Except for the Utah man's daughter.
Fifty-one and a dental office manager, she scored six out of eight -- far above the 60 percent needed to pass the official test. She was the sole respondent to name the United Nations as the international organization created after World War II to keep the world at peace.
"It's my public education, is what did it for me," she said, clutching a gold handbag as she stood by her father's chair.
"She went to better schools than I did," her father protested.
Over by the Cinnabon, two women from Burke finished cups of ice cream.
"These are designed to make you feel less than intelligent," said one, 61 and a retired flight attendant. (Yes, she got Hawaii.)
But she kept trying. Not her friend, a 63-year-old retired teacher's aide.
After two questions, she stood, gathered her shiny Nordstrom bag and surrendered. Then she asked: "Will they take our citizenship away from us?"
-- Karin Brulliard, staff writer
